Bethesda Softworks - 15 Years of The Elder Scrolls Interview

July 9th, 2009, 23:59

Todd Howard talks to Planet Elder Scrolls about the 15 years of the franchise. Here's a sample:

How did the Idea for The Elder Scrolls series begin 15 years ago? (What was the inspiration behind it? What did it develop from? Etc.)
Arena actually started as a gladiator game, and over time morphed into a giant RPG, as more and more elements got added to it. It even featured a party system at one point. The main inspiration for The Elder Scrolls comes from games like Ultima Underworld, Darklands, and Legends of Valour. And of course, D&D. The whole idea was to do a grand RPG, where you could do pretty much whatever you wanted.

Was the lore for The Elder Scrolls written or completely thought of 15 years ago? Or has The Elder Scrolls lore been developing over time? And if so, is the Elder Scrolls lore still in development? Or is it finished?
It was not completely written in the beginning at all. We add stuff with every game. Obviously the main world, races and timeline were set by Arena. Daggerfall gets into the rulers and politics of the world more; kind of the people behind the places. There was a lot of new lore done between Daggerfall and Morrowind. You can see this in Redguard. We made a real effort to make the world of the Tamriel more unique than the standard Tolkien or D&D stuff. I don’t see it as ever finished. We’ll add to it with each new game in some fashion.

Originally Posted by Burress
I actually have never played Daggerfall. I was wondering when they were going to get around to releasing it for free. I might have to try it out now.

Whatever you do, don't forget to buy the teleport and recall spells. I can't remember their exact names, but they make your adventuring a lot less frustrating, since the dungeons can be HUGE mazes (unless you like getting lost of course). Just set a recall point at the dungeon exit.